Sasuke's Containment (SasuKarinNaruSasu)
by TheFemaleReviewer
Summary: You ever wonder what happened for those two LONG years Sasuke was confined in Orochimaru's lair? Now's your chance to find out! Accompany Sasuke as has his first encounters with Karin, Suigetsu and Jugo! And also, be aware! The first half of the story may be majority adventure but Orochimaru has other plans... (SasuKarin/NaruSasu/SasuNaru)


Sasuke's Containment

The room was small and dim-lit. There was usually no sound, unless someone was walking by. At night, the dim light automatically shut off and I was completely surrounded by darkness, it was like my surroundings mimicked how I really felt inside. The room was usually warm, though, and the bed was comfortable but that was the least I could say for my containment.

In the beginning, I fought for rights. They tried to keep me in there for hours on end and instead of keeping quiet and waiting for one of them to come back like a good prisoner, I constantly practiced.

Throwing imaginary shuriken at the walls, dodging invisible kunai knives, punching the pillow until my knuckles went numb, kicking at the walls until by bones felt like they would snap. I was like Rock Lee on crack. But it was hypnotizing, engaging, and a thousand times better than sitting in that hell hole and letting my thoughts overcome me. Many times, I wanted to just drop to my knees and cry for someone to save me.

_I made a mistake._

_I want to come back to Konoha._

_I don't want to be here anymore. _

But I didn't let myself think that for long. It was a test. It had to be a test. And I had to pass.

Luckily, I was right. What felt like years later, the door opened, Orochimaru came in and told me he was impressed. I was a fighter. In fact, I was such a fighter, I was finally qualified to fight with the other prisoners. As we walked down the hall, away from the only room I'd seen since I'd gotten there, I assessed Orochimaru. He was shorter than I remember him being…

_Not wait, it's me…I've gotten taller._

"How long was I in there?" I asked.

Orochimaru shrugged.

"I don't keep track of things like that." He mumbled.

_Yes, you do._

"Guess." I prompted.

"Five or six months." He replied, glancing down at me with playful eyes.

I wanted to call him a liar. There was no way I was in there for only five months, more like five YEARS.

We entered a very, very small room which only held a mirror and a closet.

"If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

I looked into the mirror and was mildly surprised. I was clearly a lot taller but I still had the same baby face I had before. My hair, cut and trimmed periodically by Kabuto, was shorter than I remembered it, though. My clothes were pretty tight. I hadn't noticed until I looked at myself wearing the dark navy blue shirt I had with the white shorts but…my shirt barely covered my stomach anymore.

"You're one of my snakes now…so remove those Konoha clothes." He said.

Without even questioning him, I pulled the navy blue shirt with the Uchiha crest over my head and dropped it to the floor. It was useless if it was too small, anyway. My shorts came off next and I stood there looking at my bare body in the mirror. There was one other thing that got a bit bigger too…

"Here." Orochimaru said tossing me some clothes he got from the closet.

"You'll wear these every day."

I pulled on a pair of gray pants and a dark purple, sleeveless v-neck shirt. Before I pulled on the shirt I noticed it had white snake symbol on the back.

"Shoes?" I asked.

"You won't wear shoes." He said. "Come on."

"Wait."

I leaned further into the mirror. The biggest difference wasn't in my body or my clothes…it was my eyes. Somehow, they looked darker to me. I turned my back on the mirror and followed him. We went down the dark hallway and to the left, and then to the right, and then to the left. It seemed like he was purposely making it confusing and unreadable. Unless I pulled out my Sharingan and copied our footsteps there would be no way to know how to get anywhere in that hideout.

We arrived at a dead end, he made a couple of hand signs and a door appeared. We held it open for me and I unsuspectingly walked inside. The door slammed closed behind me. A single light turned on in the center of the room, very far away from me, and I realized the room was colossal. Slowly, I made my way to the center of the room where the spotlight showed. Standing just outside the spotlight was a boy who was almost a full foot shorter than me with bluish white hair and shark looking teeth. He wore the exact same outfit I did, gray pants with a small purple rope belt and a dark purple sleeveless shirt with a snake on the back. He seemed scared. I looked away from him and around at the higher levels of the room. On a balcony many, many feet above us, Kabuto and Orochimaru peered down.

"What is this?" I called to him.

I could hear Kabuto's annoying snicker.

"It's your first battle, Sasuke." Kabuto sneered. "Make sure not to disappoint Lord Orochimaru."

_Is this the only way they get entertainment around here? How sad…_

I turned back to the boy immediately got into my fighting stance as a signal to him to toughen up. It only seemed to frighten him more. He looked shook his head vigorously and looked up at Orochimaru.

"He's a bit…incomplete, Sasuke." Orochimaru called down to me. "But don't underestimate him."

Suddenly, Orochimaru snapped his fingers and a loud horn blared for us to being. More lights turned on and shined down at the large and overwhelming arena we were standing in. The boy started shaking. I tried to keep down the overwhelming sense of pity I felt for him.

_Beat him fast, put him out of his misery._

I kept chanting that to myself. I darted for him. I had no ninja tools, only the newly acquired clothes on my back. My bare feet tapped against the stone, concrete floor. This was simply battle. Who was stronger? There was no way to use deception or any place to hide. We weren't ninja there. We were just fighters. I got to him in seconds and then stumbled right in front of him, startled at my own speed. He seemed startled at my speed, too, and tripped backwards over his own feet. He fell onto his butt in front of me. I glanced at Orochimaru. He was gripping the railing, staring at us with upmost interest. I knew exactly what he was thinking.

_Am I strong enough to destroy him or will I choke?_

I slowly moved my hands; snake, ram, monkey, bore, horse, tiger. I took a deep breath, my eyes never leaving his and felt the chakra pressing into my lungs. I wondered if he would run. I was giving him ample time to do it if he was going to. Still, he sat there watching me. I decided to just go on with it…and kill him. I blew as hard as I could at the boy standing only a foot in front of me and a large fire ball closed over his body. I kept blowing until I ran out of air. I heard claps and looked up at Orochimaru. He smiled down at me. Kabuto was the one clapping and another person I'd never seen before walked onto the balcony and looked down at us. It was a girl probably not any older than I was. Our eyes met.

"The fight isn't over yet, Sasuke. Pay attention." Said Orochimaru.

I tore my eyes away from the girl's and looked in front of me. There was nothing except a puddle on the floor. I stared at it, wondering where the ashes from the boy were. It twitched and then suddenly, the boy sprouted up out of it.

"Gotcha! Didn't I?" he said.

I stumbled back, startled.

"I just pretended to be scared to show you that trick. Your fire style can't get to me!" he said with a huge grin…a grin that reminded me of…

I shook my head and returned his smile.

"Well, then I'm not holding back!" I said.

I came at him with full force. My punches were quicker, my kicks were even faster than before but he dodged them all easily and even when I did hit him, he burst into droplets of water! It was almost as if he WAS water. I quickly understood what Orochimaru meant by "incomplete". The boy was hardly human…still, though, I admired his skill. It was incredibly useful.

I skidded back for the fourth time and then stood up straight.

"Gonna quit?" he asked.

I stretched out my arms and legs and flexed my fingers. I looked down at my hands.

_Suddenly, I'm ten times quicker than I was before and my taijutsu is almost perfect…and that's without my Sharingan. Was this his plan all along? Keep me locked up for such a long time and force me to train?_

I looked up at the boy.

"That was some good practice." I said to him. "But let's end this now, there's something I need to find out."

He raised his eyebrows.

"You're not exhausted yet?" he asked, stunned.

"Of course not." I replied. "I didn't even do anything exhausting yet."

I closed my eyes momentarily and when I opened them my Sharingan showed brightly at him. He jumped back almost three full feet and pointed at me accusingly.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" he exclaimed. "You could do that this whole time?"

I smirked at him.

He turned his extended forefinger to Orochimaru, Kabuto and the girl who stood on the balcony.

"You cheated! You told me all the Uchiha's were dead!"

Orochimaru laughed.

"I didn't lie. They are…except for him." He said.

The water boy turned to me.

"Well…I've got a few tricks of my own." He said. "I'm not planning to lose to you."

_I'm not gonna lose! I won't lose to you! Sasuke!_

Again, that boy's words came to my mind... I shook them out.

"Then come on!" I said, sliding back into my fighting stance.

He ran at me and half way over, he morphed into a wave. I dodged out of the way of it easily. He was slow as water. He reformed into a human and took the water bottle off of his belt and drank it. My eyes zeroed in on the water. He lost chakra easily when he turned into water so he needed to drink often to keep his chakra up. I ran at him while he drank and got to him in less than a millisecond, I grabbed his shoulder with my right hand, swung my left foot into the bottle and through his head. He collapsed into water and the bottle clattered to the floor. I picked it up from the ground and turned to him, expecting him to complain but instead, a small wave rushed toward me. There wasn't time to move…but I knew that he was planning to get his water bottle back so I discretely sent chidori sparks through it. He washed over me and I felt the bottle leave my hand. I let him take it and jumped out of the water as quickly as I could. The small sparks scattered as he crushed the bottle. They spread throughout the wave and the water dispersed immediately. He returned to his human form and jolted and trembled with electric volts. I'd basically sent a chidori through the water bottle and when he crushed it, it multiplied and electrocuted him. A very simple way to take down a water user. As he convulsed, I walked up to him.

"Water might beat fire…but lightning is no match water." I said.

He finally stopped shaking and looked up at me from the floor. I cocked my head.

"Good fight, though. You're strong." I said to him.

Then, I turned to Orochimaru who was nodding at me.

"Yes, yes…this is perfect." He said.

"Karin." He said without taking his eyes off mine.

The girl next to him walked up.

"Take Suigetsu back to his cell."

She nodded and jumped down from the balcony. The girl was not dressed like us boys. She wore a white zip up jacket and dark shorts. As she walked past me, her bright pinkish red eyes pierced into mine. When she got to the boy, who still shook from lightening jolts, she took her eyes away from mine, pulled one of his arms over her shoulders and they both trudged back past me.

"Wait." The boy said.

The girl stopped. I turned to him.

"Your name." he said looking at me, struggling not to shake.

"Sasuke." I replied.

"I'm Suigetsu." He said. "You're strong, too."

As we looked at each other, I felt something pass between us, some kind of mutual understanding that we had nothing against each other. We had to do what we had to do. Momentarily, I wondered what his reason was for wanting to win… But I didn't ask. I was supposed to be stoic, showing any real emotion could get me killed. I looked away from them and back at Orochimaru who motioned me forward. With my Sharingan still on, it took only a couple more seconds to scale the wall and set foot in his balcony.

"That was very interesting, Sasuke, so you already understand the chakra natures?"

"Of course." I said.

"Clever." He replied, he outstretched his hand toward me, perhaps to ruffle my hair and pat my shoulder or maybe to snap my neck, I'll never know because I jumped back.

"Don't touch me." I said.

He smirked.

"Frightened?"

"Never." I replied. "In any case, I've obviously passed this test of yours so am I done with solitary confinement?"

He shrugged.

"Sure, I suppose you have your credibility now."

_Thank God…_

"Are you ready to fight?"

I looked up at him questioningly. He pointed back down into the arena. Two boys stood there looking up at us, they each had an interesting disposition, their arms were five times larger than normal.

"Have fun." Orochimaru said.

I didn't even wait for a signal, I jumped into the arena full force ready to test my strength against whoever was there. It was like that for a very long time. I was a part of his "talent show" as Kabuto muttered under his breath. In weeks, I was taking on five people at a time. My curse mark began bleeding out of me but I suppressed it because I wasn't certain how to use it well in battle. The only time I'd ever used it to it's fullest extent was against that guy…and no matter how hard I tried to deny it, it was because I was pushed into a corner.

A month later, I'd kicked every prisoner's ass at least twice. I even went up against Suigetsu again, he was no kidder though. Even though he was beaten by me before, he came at me with full force. He actually did something pretty intelligent and caught me in an attack that captured me in water, that way, if I used my chidori, I'd be electrocuted as well. But by then, I was fourteen and I had been spending all my confined time practicing genjutsu's since that was supposedly my Kekkei Genkai. The moment he'd looked into my eyes, the entire fight was inside his head. When he thought he had me, drenching me in water, I summoned a sword from nowhere, pulsated electric jolts through it and pierced his heart with it. He woke up thrashing around on the floor thinking he had died and then, when he saw me standing there completely relaxed and calm, he realized what had happened. He smiled to himself.

"Should've known…" he muttered. "But next time, I'll get you for sure."

As he walked by, he smirked at me and extended a fist. I bumped it back. Somehow, in such a desperate situation, there were kind actions, good intentions and pure heartedness. It baffled me. I expected everyone there to be as cold and ruthless as the Sound Four but every single boy or girl I'd fought against seem just like Choji or Shikamaru or Ino or…anyone. They were all normal. Just caught in a bad situation. Because I wasn't constantly confined anymore, I was allowed to walk around the castle. I discovered the meaning of the colors. People that wore dark purple shirts with gray pants like me and Suigetsu were "favorites" of Orochimaru. People he believed had true talent. People that wore our colors were few and far in between. And then there were those who wore greenish white shirts and shorts. They were the regulars. The majority of the people I fought were dressed like that. And then there were the guards, those people wore white zip up jackets and black pants or shorts like that girl I saw. Because of the colors, it was easy to distinguish who was who. Even the regulars knew that they could only trust each other. I often heard them talking while they were eating together or practicing together.

"I really miss my little sister." Said a brown haired boy. "She doesn't have the weird metal Kekkei Genkai like I do, so Lord Orochimaru didn't go after her. I'm sure she thinks I'm dead but…I just wish I could go to her and tell her I'm safe."

The orange haired boy sitting next to him patted him on the back.

"I know what you mean." He said. "I was really stupid and I ran away from home when my Mother enrolled me in the ninja academy. I was just a coward. I ended up running into Lord Orochimaru after he caught me bringing a blind kid's vision back with my healing Kekkei Genkai. I just wish I could tell my Mom I'm sorry."

They told secrets and cried together and held onto each other for support. Sometimes, they made incredibly strong bonds with each other. There were these two girls I'll probably never forget who were best friends that had to fight each other. The curse marks were eating them alive. One lost control and her body seized up and she couldn't move. In that moment of weakness, Orochimaru ordered the other girl to murder her friend. Instead, the girl just smiled, picked up a lone Kunai knife on the ground and slit her own throat so certainly her head hung from her neck only by loose fibers. The other girl went insane and was later executed by one of the guards.

Things like that happened often. Kids you saw one day were gone the next. Every time someone died Orochimaru forced me to look. I wasn't sure if he was interested in seeing if I'd go crazy or if he wanted to toughen me up. Either way, I pretended to look but let my mind travel elsewhere. I wasn't a murderer. I didn't enjoy things like that, contrary to everyone's beliefs.

The kids were all afraid of me. Anytime I walked the halls, it was like I was a guard. Their laughing and smiling stopped and the whispers ensued.

"That's the Lord's pet."

"That kid? He doesn't even look seventeen yet…"

"Watch out, he's killer…"

"Don't mess with that one, he'll have you running with your tail between your legs."

I was taboo. I was untouchable. I was like a God. A lot of people had heard of me but didn't know if I was real. Orochimaru had told them all that all the Uchiha's had died so the prospect of there being an Uchiha boy as his pet was slim. Most of them thought it was a lie but then…

"Please…please, don't kill me."

I walked toward the shaking girl with a twitching right hand. I cocked my head, keeping my eyes on hers.

"Please!" she begged. "Please!"

"Sasuke!" Orochimaru called. "Finish her…she's a coward."

My hand lit up with electricity. I seized the girl by her shirt collar and pulled her up off of the ground. Her tears fell onto my arm. I blocked my thoughts, dispersed my chidori, and punched her in the face. She skidded a full ten feet. I hopped back onto the platform where Orochimaru and Kabuto stood and looked at him.

"I'm not going to waste energy killing people who have nothing to do with my goal." I said.

Orochimaru smirked.

"Oh really?" he said.

"That girl is not what I came here for."

Situations like that would happen and ALL the hideouts would be certain I wasn't just a rumor. Kids living in darkness like that thrived on storytelling. I was the basis of most of the tales: The frightening Uchiha has a heart.

We moved frequently. Sometimes taking people with us but most of the time, it was just Orochimaru, Kabuto and I. When I turned fifteen, I ended up back at square one. In the same small dim lit room I had when I first came. After two years, it looked suffocatingly small.

"Orochimaru." I called.

He turned to me.

"These clothes…are too small now." I said motioning to them.

He nodded.

"Ahh, they are, aren't they?" he said. "Well then…I suppose you can have some better arrangements."

He came back with black pants, a white long sleeved shirt and…shoes.

"Here." He said.

I put them on, later, I was given a purple rope belt to tie my dark purple cloak to my waist. From that day forward, I didn't fight the underlings anymore. Instead, as the colors suggested, I was promoted to a guard-like level. I stood on the platform and watched with Kabuto who took notes, Orochimaru who snickered and peered down intensely and that same girl from the first fight I'd ever had against Suigetsu. She had no obvious interest in me. She was only there to make sure the prisoners stayed in order. I could see why she had that job, she was loud and kind of bossy but because of that, everyone got right into line the moment they saw her coming. Secretly, I admired the power she had.

I trained directly under Orochimaru then instead of wasting time with the fodder. Fighting directly with him was one of the most difficult tasks I'd ever had. The fact that he had no use of his arms made beating him a bit more realistic but in the beginning, I was still no match for him.

"Come on, Sasuke." He'd taunt. "You should at least be able to kill me now. How the hell do you expect to compete with that Itachi?"

And then I'd be sent into a whirlpool of emotions, anger, frustration, desperation. I wasn't there just wasting time. I was there to become the strongest ninja I could be so that I could kill Itachi and being weaker than Orochimaru in his weakest state was clearly not acceptable. I trained so hard that some days, Orochimaru refused to train me telling me to go find something relaxing to do. Instead of that, I found an empty training room and continued alone, in the darkness. I was convinced he was just frightened that I was getting so strong so quickly. I forced myself to keep it up.

One day, sitting on the platform, he pointed out into the arena.

"Look." He said.

I turned. A boy who had to be restrained by three guards was being dragged into the arena. He was fluctuating in and out of curse mark form until, suddenly, he burst into full curse mark form and tore the guards apart with his bare hands.

What the hell?

He whirled around with wide eyes looking in all directions.

"When he's like that, he has no control over anything he does." Muttered Kabuto.

I looked down at the boy who looked in the face to be only fifteen or sixteen like I was but had a broad, muscular body.

"His name is Jugo." Said Orochimaru. "He's the original curse mark."

The boy was screaming like some kind of wretched animal and jumping from wall to wall expecting someone else to enter the room that he could slaughter.

"Do you want me to fight him?" I asked.

Orochimaru smirked.

"Of course not, you're no match for Jugo." He said. "But the day you're able to defeat him…that's the day you'll be able to go against Itachi."

He snapped his fingers. Kabuto rushed into the arena and threw a tag onto Jugo's face. His body curled inward until he was lying on the ground in a fetal position. Suddenly, he didn't look dangerous at all. Just like a normal boy in rags. He was shaking. Kabuto got him to his feet and patted his back probably whispering lies to him. I stood up and grasped the rail as I looked down at the boy. There was something about him… Something about a good natured boy losing control and turning into an evil being like that… It resounded with me.

Suddenly, as though sensing me, he stopped and looked up. We made eye contact. His eyes were wide and open but steady as though he was trying to communicate something with me. But then Kabuto pushed him forward and they left the arena. Still, I never forgot about that boy, somewhere deep inside, I'd already resolved to free him. I just didn't realize it yet.

The next couple of days were strange. My door was locked. Initially, I thought it was a mistake and tried forcing it open but it was sealed. Expecting some kind of altercation, I went into training mode like I did when I first came. Throwing imaginary shuriken, dodging invisible kunai's and then…

The door creaked open. I stopped and turned. The person closed the door behind her.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Nothing, it's what Orochimaru wants." She said.

I knew this girl. Since I was basically acting as a guard, I was around her often. Like Kabuto, she was trusted.

"What does he want?" I asked.

She smirked.

"Your future children." She said.

I raised an eyebrow, trying not to show my confusion. Suddenly, she burst out laughing.

"It sounds really dirty, right?" she asked. "But actually, it's not that perverted at all."

"Just explain." I said losing my very short patience.

"He's doing you a favor, trying to see if he can reestablish your poor little Uchiha clan using artificial insemination."

My mind whirled immediately. There had to be something behind it. Orochimaru wouldn't do something like that just out of the kindness of his heart.

"Is that all you know?" I asked.

"No, that's all he told me." She said.

"So what do you _know_?" I asked.

She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and placed the cylindrical tube on my nightstand.

"I know that this is a bad idea. If he can figure out how to do this, he's not going to restore your clan for the benefit of Konoha." She said. "He's going to lock them all up in here and use them for himself."

I cocked my head. It was troublesome but I wasn't worried at all. Firstly, I was certain that I was on the brink of becoming strong enough to destroy Orochimaru. As long as I killed him before he created more Uchiha, there would be nothing to worry about. And even more importantly, what kind of jutsu could artificially conceive children? It seemed like some kind of fable to me.

I shook my head.

"It's nothing to worry about."

"You say that now but what if in ten years there's a fifty little Uchiha kids running around slaughtering villages?" she asked.

I waved her off.

"Nothing like that will ever happen."

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Karin!" said a gruff voice I'd never heard before. "Lord Orochimaru wants you to hurry up."

"Tell him if he wants it, he'll wait!" she yelled back. "This isn't easy!"

The man grunted and walked off. I'd never heard her showing disrespect to Orochimaru like that before. I thought I was the only one who had the power to do that.

"You're gonna have to hurry up." She said.

"What do you mean?"

"Go ahead and do it and when you finish, collect it in this bottle." She said picking it up and holding it out to me.

I tried to keep myself from flying off the handle.

"I can't…do something like this with you standing right there."

"I'm not allowed to leave until you finish." She protested.

I sat on the bed and sighed.

"Then it's no use, I can't do it." I said crossing my arms.

She rolled her eyes.

"What are you, five?" she asked. "Do you want me to turn around and cover my ears?"

_No, I don't want to do this at all…_

I didn't reply. It was silent for at least two full minutes and finally, she rolled her eyes again and sighed.

"I can't believe this…" she said, throwing the bottle at me.

I caught it and watched as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I said, feeling horrified.

"My orders weren't just to give you the bottle and wait." She said. "I'm supposed to get you to do this using any means necessary."

_That doesn't mean prostitute yourself!_

When her shirt was off, she pulled at her bra strings.

_Or maybe…that's exactly what it means…_

"Stop." I said.

She looked at me.

"I'm just going to give you a visual." She said. "It should be easier then."

"No…you're just going to make it worse." I said. "Put your clothes back on."

She sighed, picked her shirt off of the ground, and pulled it back over her head.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Now…just stay over there." I said pointing all the way across the room.

She walked over there and crossed her arms. I lay back on the bed.

"And there aren't any other extraction procedures he can think of?" I asked.

"There probably are but…"

…_But this is the most amusing for him._

I let my mind wander to a place I hadn't let it go in years. I was surprised at how easily it came back, like a sea of emotions.

"Sasuke, what was that on Kurenai Sensei's neck?"

I rolled my eyes.

"A kiss mark."

"How does that happen?"

"You make it by sucking."

"Sucking?" he asked, then he frowned. "Are you lying?"

"Why would I lie?" I asked, feeling annoyed.

"Prove it!" he said.

"I'm not doing something stupid like that." I said grabbing the bed sheets, planning to go to bed.

"Wait, let me try!"

Naruto pulled himself up onto the bed and basically tackled me. He pulled down the sleeve on my arm and put his mouth on my arm. I tried to push him away but…only halfheartedly.

"Do it to your own arm!" I said.

He ignored me and continued practicing his marks. He kept going, making a line down my arm. I watched him, feeling my heart beat rise among other things… He pulled down the collar of my shirt and pressed his lips there. My cheeks flushed with blood and my heart jump. Slowly, he pulled away from me and looked at my face. I couldn't bring myself to say anything…but I wanted to punch him.

"Sasuke, it's really easy!" he said. "Don't you want to try now?"

He held out his arm to me. I stared at it. Instead of grabbing it, I grabbed his shirt, pulled him to me and I held out a fist above his head. He braced himself for a punch…a punch that didn't come… Instead, I zipped his jacket down…and pulled it off. He watched it fall off the bed to the floor with wide eyes. I pushed him backwards and he lay down, looking up at me. His eyes were playful, excited… I kept trying to get back into my usual behavior. Insult him, punch him, shove him…something…but instead, I- …wait…something's touching me. What's…?

I opened my eyes a second too late, a hand slipped into my pants.

"What are you doing!?" I exclaimed, jumping up.

Karin stared down at me.

"Thought I'd help you along quicker." She said.

"I don't need that." I said.

She ignored me, her hand searched for a moment longer before it grasped what it was looking for. I gasped, unable to control the jolt that went through my body.

"Wow…whatever you're thinking of…it's working." She said, fondling it.

I grasped her wrist.

"Let…go." I said.

She pushed me back down into a laying position.

"Just calm down." She said. "You work on…fantasizing and I'll work on getting it into the bottle, we'll be a team."

She said this through short bursts of laughter. I sighed.

"Fine, do what you want." I said.

With her hand there, it was actually a bit easier to get back to where I was because Naruto did just that. As I lay over him, pinning him down. He randomly reached up and touched me.

"I knew it!" he said, like he'd won some kind of prize. "You're really turned on by me, aren't you?"

His hand there only made me harder. Without replying, I lowered myself onto him and pressed my lips into his neck. Instead of making kiss marks, I allowed my tongue to escape from between my lips and dragged it down his collarbone. He shuddered.

"Sasuke…that tickles." He said giggling.

I could feel him smiling. I lifted his shirt and pulled it over his head. He grabbed my shirt and pulled mine off. Our bare chests touched. His hand reached up and caressed my cheek.

"For some reason, this feels really good." He said.

I could feel the heat pooling in my cheeks again. I wanted to look away from him but I couldn't.

"Sasuke, would it be okay if…we kiss?" he asked.

I was leaning into him before he even finished asking. I pressed my lips to his and it felt like an entirely new world opened up. My breath quickened. The only things that existed were the feelings of our tongues rolling around together and his hand caressing my…

"Great job. That was more than enough."

I opened my eyes. I thought I'd felt a release in pressure at some point but I was so immersed in my memory, I hadn't paid attention to it. The bottle was full. She screwed the cap back on it. I watched her crawl off me and casually walk back to the dungeon-like door.

"This was…an interesting experience." She said.

I watched her leave feeling bewildered. I had no idea what she meant. I was in a whole other world during it so what could she have seen that made it interesting? The answer bugged me. I didn't want to be seen as weak. And yet, she had just seen me at my weakest stage. It unnerved me.

It happened more times, until it became a routine. Every week near the time I was going to sleep, she'd show up. I was, in a way, forced to interact with her. When she closed the door behind herself, a jutsu spread over my room that locked us both in there until what needed to happen was done. We became…unlikely friends. Initially, it was just because I knew that she knew things no one else knew.

"So, what about the keys?" I asked. "Is there one that unlocks every door?"

"Keys?" she repeated in that haughty way of hers. "Those aren't really what opens the door. Lord Orochimaru's a very cautious man… They're just a disguise for a jutsu he uses."

"And what's the jutsu?" I asked.

She approached me, took my hands in hers and helped me form the horse, tiger, bear, dog, sheep and monkey hand signs.

"Just like that." She said. "Really fast."

"And that'll even open his door?" I asked her.

She stood up and shrugged.

"I've never been ordered to open his personal door. That's something only Kabuto would know."

I sighed.

"Then I'll just need a stronger jutsu."

She smirked at me.

"You're really planning to kill that guy, aren't you?" she asked. "Not being too discrete are you?"

"Even if he knows, he thinks he's stronger than me…so it won't mean anything to him." I explained.

"True." She agreed, then she sat on the nightstand and crossed her legs. "So what's going to happen once you kill him?"

"My plan all along." I said. "My mission is to kill my older brother."

"Hmm?" she said. "What for?"

I looked away from her, my fingers quickly curled into fists.

"He killed my entire clan…single handedly. Our parents, our grandparents, our aunts and uncles…everyone."

She whistled.

"What a guy." She said sarcastically. "Well, he must be strong then."

"He is."

"But still, I've seen you fight. I'm certain you can beat him."

I looked at her.

"Why do you say that?"

She shrugged.

"I dunno. There's something about you, you know? The way you fight it's like you live for it. Sometimes watching you…it's scary. You look so cold and empty. Like a void that's just going to suck us all up."

I watched her.

"But hanging around you these few weeks has made me realize that even the coldest ones have a heart."

_Damn, somehow…she's seen right through me._

"You know, most of the time, I'm glad to be standing up there on that platform instead of being one of the poor souls that have to fight people like you."

"Aren't you supposed to be strong?"

"Oh I am." She said. "But not in the way you think."

"Explain." I said. "How are you useful to Orochimaru?"

"I have an enormous amount of chakra and a healing and sensing Kekkei Genkai. Even if you're at an inch of your life, I can save you. Orochimaru needs me for my sensing abilities and Kabuto is trying to learn my healing Kekkei Genkai." She explained.

"How did he find you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Just like you, I'm the only one of my clan, too" She said. "Everyone in my village was killed when some neighboring assholes burned the whole place to the ground. I was the only one to escape because I sensed them coming from miles away. Orochimaru found me a couple days later…brought me here and made me a guard."

_She's the only one of her clan, too? Interesting…_

"What's your surname?" I asked.

"Uzumaki." She replied simply. "Uzumaki Karin."

I couldn't stop the shock from crossing my face. She didn't miss much.

"To be specific, I meant that I'm the only full Uzumaki alive." She explained. "You can tell who is a full Uzumaki because they have fiery red hair like mine and an enormous amount of chakra."

I remained silent. My ears seemed to be repeating the information for validity.

"Your Uzumaki is blonde…isn't he? Orochimaru talks about him a lot. But you can tell…he's only a half."

_My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember that!_

_One day, I, Uzumaki Naruto, will become Hokage!_

That idiot…so he did have a special bloodline after all, even if it was just half, that seems to be enough.

"But I guess he's lucky he's only a half, because if he wasn't, when Orochimaru took you from the village, he would've been on the list, too."

Suddenly, something snapped in me.

"As if I'd let that happen." I snarled.

She appraised me with wide eyes.

"You really care about that guy, don't you?"

As usual, nothing gets past her. I looked away from her.

"I don't care about him." I said. "I just meant there's no way I'd let that idiot insult me with his presence again."

She glanced at the watch on her wrist.

"Ready to get this show on the road?" she asked.

I sighed, for a moment, I'd almost forgot that was what she was there for. Not as any kind of personal confidant. I was letting her in too close. If I wasn't careful, she could sabotage my entire plan before I could enact it. Why was it that I couldn't keep up my usual wall against her? It was like she knew answers to questions I hadn't even asked myself yet.

I lay down and tried to conjure up a fantasy but no matter how many times I grasped a memory of Naruto, a thought about her got in the way.

I sighed.

"I can't do it today for some reason." I finally said.

She rolled her eyes.

"Back to square one, again?" she asked. "You're like a twelve year old."

I wasn't offended. She often made comments like that but I came to realize they didn't mean anything.

"What should I do?" she asked me.

I said nothing but without meaning to my eyes flicked down to her shirt, then back up to her eyes, then I forced myself to look away all together.

_What was that thought just now…?_

"Suddenly, you want that?" she asked, then she laughed. "Maybe I'm growing on you."

She zipped her jacket down to reveal her bra underneath. I wanted to be nonchalant and look away but I couldn't. I watched almost thirstily as she exposed herself. Her jacket dropped to the floor. I sat up, feeling excited.

_Just the last piece…_

I was already excited enough in the lower half of my body. But completely revealing herself would seal the deal. She walked toward me and then bent down in front of me, giving me a nice preview.

"Why don't you do it?" she asked, with a wink.

I said nothing, I tried to look her in the eyes but my gaze kept shifting south.

"Come on, I'm not going to bite…or…will I?" she said playfully.

_I can't stop these urges…_

"Fine." I said.

I reached over to her, took a second to realize that the hooks were on the back, reached around her and unhooked them. The bra came off in my hand but that wasn't my concern. My eyes were locked on her chest. My hand was touching her sensually. I couldn't stop myself. I went over every inch of her skin with my fingers. Finally, she pushed me back.

"I think you're ready." She said.

She loosened my pants, reached in, and grabbed me. I was already erect and dripping. She leaned over me. I had a front row seat to something spectacular.

"You can touch them again, if that'll help." She said.

I didn't need any further invitation. I reached out with both hands and caressed her while she grabbed down there and tickled the head of it with the tips of her fingers. I was so into it, it only took another couple of seconds.

"Whoa, whoa wait a second, let me get the bottle!"

She snatched the bottle off of the nightstand and pulled me into it just in the nick of time. She leaned on me and we both breathed heavily against each other for a second. Suddenly, something occurred to me.

_Does she want to feel pleasure, too?_

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, she stood up, put the bottle on the table and started getting dressed.

_Leaving already?_

When she was fully dressed, she grabbed the bottle in one hand and walked toward the door.

"Good night, Sasuke." She said simply.

The next couple of days were hard on me. Finally, I was allowed outside after almost three full years without sunlight. I stood in place in the grassy plain for hours just soaking in the sun and wind and animals. Orochimaru and I fought against each other. I held back my specialties that I had been working on in my spare time, such as full body chidori and kirin.

Across the plains, Kabuto and Karin pulled about a dozen prisoners onto their knees in the grass. I knew what was going to happen next. There was only one reason anyone got on their knees around there. Two other guards, along with Karin, split them up and single handedly beat them all to death. I could hear the screams and cries of horror but I blocked it out and threw a fire jutsu at Orochimaru that barely missed. I distracted my brain with encouragement.

_You're getting better, you're doing fine._

"Does it bother you to kill people here?" I asked.

Karin was sitting on my desk filing her nails with some sharp looking object.

"I usually don't have to but when I do…not really." She said. "I mean, if Orochimaru wants them dead, they're going to die. It doesn't matter who does it."

"Is that what you tell yourself to keep it distant?" I asked.

She paused. She knew what I meant. Things there…weren't right.

"Often, I dream of using the keys one of these days to just…let everyone go." She said. "Some of the kids in here look so damn scared, I can't even sleep at night without seeing their faces."

"You could never let everyone go with Orochimaru still alive…he'd track them all down and-"

"I know." She said. "That's why I just follow orders."

"I said with him still alive…if I could succeed in killing him, you could have your dream…and just let everyone go."

"You know, I never forget the faces…of the kids I have to get rid of…especially the little ones."

"Yeah…I know." I replied.

Our conversations took that road quickly, they became serious like that. I tried to distance myself from her but I couldn't help but be curious about what she thought and I liked it when she took an interest in me too. I found myself waiting for her to show up. I timed the days perfectly so I knew exactly what day and hour she'd appear. I'd pace the room waiting for the click of her shoes to sound down the hallway and grow louder and louder. And then…there would be the click of the door lock and it would swing open.

"You're late." I said to her.

She scoffed.

"Suddenly, there's a time now?" she asked.

I stepped back as she came in.

"So…what are we going to talk about today?" she asked smirking. "The meaning of life?"

Without responding, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me. She was completely caught off guard. I pressed my lips to her mouth. It took her a second to rouse out of shock but once she did, to my delight, she kissed back. Without warning, she reached down and grabbed me there. I was startled but I continued kissing her. Unable to relinquish the feeling of my tongue in her mouth for anything. She pulled away.

"You're already hard." She said with a raised eyebrow. "You really _were _waiting for me."

Instead of responding, I kissed her again, on her cheeks and down her neck. I zipped her jacket down, exposing that area I so coveted. I lifted her up, crossed the room while kissing her and lay her down on my bed. Then, I unhooked her bra and removed it.

"Sasuke…you're really into it today." She said.

I had no answer so I said nothing. Instead, I let my kisses drift from her neck to her breasts. She moaned, grabbing my hair. My fingers tugged at those little shorts she wore. I pushed my fingers into them with the intent of going all the way. She grabbed my hand and I stopped, looking down at her.

"This isn't about me." She said.

And with that, she pushed me down on the bed and straddled me. Her fingers drug down my chest lightly as we looked into each other's eyes.

"I guess, today, I'll give you a better treat." She said.

She loosened my pants, pulling them down until I was completely exposed. She rolled it between her fingers watching me as I shuddered with some touches and cringed with others. Keeping her eyes on mine, she bent her head, face getting closer and closer to my erect excitement. I wanted to sit up and watch where she was going but I decided to let it come as a surprise…

…What's that feeling? Oh, she's kissing it. Wait…this isn't just a kiss…there's more to this… She's…she's…

Suddenly, my mind flashed to a memory I hadn't thought of in a very long time.

"_How does that happen?"_

"_You make it by sucking!"_

Naruto's lips on my arms and neck, my lips on his. It was the first time we were open with our feelings. Of course, we never talked about it again. But…what did that mean?

She's definitely sucking. This…this feels…unimaginable. And that time felt unimaginable, too…

"_Sasuke…do you want to try now?"_

Of course I wanted to try. I had been having dreams at night of trying something like that for weeks before then. But I was too proud to admit it.

The way she's going on…sucking me there… I thought of doing something like this with him, too… But we were young, really young…so instead, we just…

"_For some reason, this feels really good." He had said._

It felt good to me, too. And I knew that he knew my true feelings. I just wished he didn't know. He knew me inside and out…and to this day, I can't explain how irritated that made me feel. Sometimes, I wanted to yell: "Can I just have one secret?!" But that was only sometimes, often, I was grateful to have him. It was always him…he was my…my only…

I'm close. She's really got a knack for it, this girl…

"_Sasuke, would it be okay if…we kiss?"_

I don't think that there will ever be a day when that's not okay…

She's like him…she's loud and obvious but she's kind hearted and somehow, she knows me inside out. …She's perfect.

But, if that's the case…then why… Why do I keep thinking about Naruto!?

"Wait a second." I said.

She took her time stopping, slowly dragging her tongue across the head of it.

"Yes?" she said smiling.

"You can just…use the bottle now." I said.

She looked at me questioningly.

"I'm close." I explained.

She grabbed the bottle and shrugged.

"Most boys would want a girl to finish the job…but whatever you say."

She popped the lid and lead my dick into the opening, while slowly caressing me. Just her fingers helped me to release into the bottle. I wasn't that far away. When I was finished, she capped it and turned her back to me.

"I guess I'll see you around."

"Not next week?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"I'm being moved to the Southern Jail today." She said. "So, I guess this marks the end of your semen retrieval."

I said nothing.

"Aw." She said with a fake pout. "I thought you'd jump for joy. Perhaps…you're sad to see me leaving?"

She turned around and unlocked the door with her hand signals.

"Karin." I said.

She turned to me.

"I promise that when I destroy Orochimaru, I'll get you out of here." I said. "Even if I don't get anyone else out."

For once, she didn't smile. She appraised me like I was someone worthy of her seriousness.

"I don't really like promises." She said. "But this is one that I know will be kept…so, I suppose I can make an exception."

Suddenly, her smile was back.

"I'll be waiting for you…on the other side."

And then the door slammed closed. My thoughts raced around in circles with each other but after a few minutes I was able to put them all to rest. I wasn't here for Karin or Orochimaru or even Naruto… I was here for Itachi.

Karin

"Here." I said placing it on the table. "The last bottle."

"Good, Karin."

"Are the experiments going well?" I asked.

"Finally taken an interest in them?" he asked.

"Not really." I said. "I just want to know where all this hard work is going."

"Every egg injected with the Uchiha sperm so far has died a catastrophic death." Orochimaru said, almost as if enjoying the results. "This last batch is just to make sure…but I'm beginning to realize that the Uchiha DNA might be so powerful, it can't be stolen as easily as DNA like…yours."

I rolled my eyes.

"In any case, what are the results of your real mission?" he asked.

My real mission…the mission to win the heart of the bland boy Uchiha and transfer all of his deepest darkest secrets to Orochimaru. A mission only I could have. My sensing abilities were so powerful that, when touching someone in an intimate way, I could basically read whatever is on their minds at the time.

"Be more specific." I said.

"Did he fall in love with you like planned?" he asked.

"At first, it seemed like he was but then…"

A vision of a blonde haired, blue eyed boy with a big grin flashed in front of my face.

"That guy you call Naruto got in the way."

Orochimaru snickered.

"I guess it can't be helped." He said. "That boy…really has an influence over him. It's uncanny."

It was more than uncanny. It was downright unorthodox. While I was touching him, I saw the vivid images of him kissing that boy pass through me. I felt his emotions, felt his excitement, pleasure, and peace all wrapped up in one with other emotions like confusion and fear resting on the outside. It was clear he didn't understand the true nature of his feelings for that boy. But I understood completely. He was obviously in love with him.

"Such a shame for a guy that attractive to swing the other way." I said, pouting my lips.

Orochimaru snickered again.

"Onto the important things, what are his plans?" he asked. "I know he's planning to escape somehow."

"Oh, that?" I said. "He just thinks he's going to bust right through you, defeat you and then go kill Itachi instead of giving his body up to you."

"Do you think he can succeed?"

The question he asked was not really what he was asking. His eyes pierced into mine. Every woman is a queen at keeping secrets. I kept my cool.

"Of course not." I replied.

"I see." He said, relaxing.

Kabuto entered the room and whispered something into his ear. Something about intruders.

"Really?" Orochimaru said. "Well speak of the devil…"

They both stood up and turned to me.

"Well, hurry up." He said. "If you want to make it to the Southern Hideout by tomorrow, you have to leave early."

"You expect me to make the journey on my own?" I asked.

"I don't suspect that you'll run away and besides, no one here has time to walk you there…things are about to get messy here."

I wanted to stick around and find out what was going to happen, but instead I just shrugged.

"Fine."

"Oh, and Karin?"

I turned.

"Yes?"

"Have you finally discovered why Sasuke looks so familiar to you?"

My eyes widened, no more keeping it cool_. _

_How did he know that I recognized him?_

"I had a feeling that you knew him from somewhere when you out of all the girls volunteered for this mission." He said. "I researched it and realized you were both in the same chunin exams…the day I planted the curse mark on him was the day he saved you from some forest animal."

Yes…yes…that was it. The boy who saved me from the bear. It all made sense. I was only in that chunin exam on Orochimaru's orders. I and some of the other ninja he placed there were supposed to assist in deterring a certain team…it was his team. Though, I was the worse one in my squad and they both ended up leaving me. If it wasn't for him…I'd be dead.

He grinned at me maliciously.

Finally, it made sense. Why he was sending me away… He was afraid I'd learn of our connection and fight to stay with him. With the both of us working as a team, he was afraid we'd stand a chance.

"Maybe if you go quickly, I'll send Sasuke to go with you." He taunted.

I shrugged.

"I don't want that." I said simply.

I walked out into the hallway feeling the ground shake. There certainly was something going on in the hideout. I used my sensing abilities and found around a hundred ink mice and snakes running around. I sighed and quickly headed for the emergency exit. Hopefully, whoever had broken in would destroy Orochimaru before Sasuke had to.

But then again, I had no doubt in Sasuke… I hadn't completely ratted him out because, contrary to everyone's belief, I actually did have some strong feelings for him. I was glad I hadn't told Orochimaru that I'd found Sasuke's trump card for beating him. I whistled as I climbed the ladder of the emergency exit up to ground level.

"You're going to have a rude awakening, Orochimaru." I whispered.


End file.
